W. hockey posts two-win Thanksgiving

Women's hockey cooked a pair of weaker opponents over Thanksgiving weekend. The first was tough and undercooked. The second was a top-quality feast.

Princeton (7-3-0 overall, 2-1-0 Eastern College Athletic Conference) pummeled Boston College (3-7-0), 8-0, Sunday at Baker Rink after escaping New Haven with a 3-2 victory over Yale (3-4-2, 1-2-0) on Friday night.

Princeton got off to a quick start at Yale on Friday night, but needed some heroics from senior forward Gretchen Anderson to pull out the one-goal win.

Under four minutes into the first period, the Tigers opened the scoring when Anderson scored on assists from senior defender Angela Gooldy and freshman defender Dina McCumber. The Bulldogs' Suzanne McGoey tied the game late in the period.

"Against Yale we scored early," Princeton head coach Jeff Kampersal '92 said, "and once we scored we let them off the hook and gave ourselves a tougher game."

After over 16 minutes of scoreless hockey in the second period, Anderson found the net again later in the period, this time on a shorthanded opportunity, to give Princeton a 2-1 lead after two.

But Yale would not go quietly. Deena Caplette scored 4:17 into the third period to even the score and set up a memorable finish. At 14:57 of the decisive period, Anderson made it a hat trick with the game-winning goal, her 13th score of the season.

Senior goalie Megan Van Beusekom made 22 saves to earn her fourth win of the season.

The victory against Yale was Princeton's second straight following a brutal stretch in which the team lost three out of five games.

Sunday, the Tigers cleaned their teeth from the Yale win in their drubbing of Boston College. Princeton scored five times in the first period to bake the Eagles into submission.

Sophomore forward Heather Jackson started the scoring off, taking a pass in front of the Boston College net and firing a quick slap shot, which hit goalie Christine Moynihan's pads and trickled through at 4:33.

The Tigers added a second goal less than a minute later when junior defense Katharine Maglione took a pass from Anderson at the left point, and slung a wrist shot through.

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As if even strength wasn't enough of an advantage, two Eagle penalties back-to-back set up a five-one-three power play for Princeton at 8:34 of the first period. Anderson capitalized, taking a cross-crease pass from senior forward Susan Hobson and slipping the puck in on the right side for a 3-0 Tiger lead.

Sophomore forward Sarah Greer and freshman forward Kim Pearce also added goals in the first. Greer scored on a backhand in front of the net after freshman forward Liz Keady slid her a pass across the center at 11:31. Pearce scored after collecting a loose puck on the left side and beating Moynihan in the upper right corner at 15:29.

"We started off prepared to play," Kampersal said. "Whatever they did in the locker room, they were mentally focused."

The highlight of the first period came at 13:12 when, following a Hobson elbowing penalty, Boston College was whistled for an odd two-minute bench minor for use of obscene language.

Sophomore Roxanne Gaudiel replaced Van Beusekom in net in the second period as the teams skated to a penalty-riddled stalemate in the middle frame.

Princeton had many chances in front of the net in the period, but was unable to convert.

The third period was scoreless for nearly 13 minutes before the Tigers scored two goals in less than a minute for the second time in the game. home from right in front of the net at 12:53 and Anderson added her second goal of the game, and fifth of the weekend, at 13:45.

Senior forward Lisa Rasmussen added a goal at 17:35.

"We had a day off yesterday, which helped," Kampersal said. "[Boston College] had to travel, which didn't help them. We've played a lot of tough games, so it was good to have a breakout game."

Van Beusekom got possibly the easiest win of her career, making one save in the first period to improve to 5-3-0. Gaudiel made 10 stops in two periods.

Twenty-three total penalties were called, 13 on Princeton, in a game that seemed to get uglier as it went along.